A Northern Ireland haulage boss who was jailed in England for falsifying drivers' worktime records has failed in a London Court of Appeal bid for an early release.

Patrick James Boyle (61), from Camlough in Co Armagh, was jailed at Carlisle Crown Court for two years in April after admitting conspiracy to make a false instrument.

Boyle, boss of Boyle Transport, had conspired to alter machines so that drivers could get around restrictions on the number of hours they could work without taking a break. He appealed against the length of his sentence at the London court, but yesterday had his case rejected by three judges.

His son, Mark Anthony Boyle (37), also of Camlough, got 18 months for the same offence and, although he has already been freed, also appealed unsuccessfully yesterday.

“The offences were committed by the appellants for their own commercial purposes to increase profits and to make monies for themselves and their families,” one of the appeal judges said.

The pair were caught when several lorries were stopped and five were found to have had their tachographs — machines that record driving hours — interfered with.